Santa Monica SWAT incident ends when man reportedly shoots himself

By City News Service

Posted:
02/27/2013 07:19:52 AM PST

Updated:
02/27/2013 07:29:01 AM PST

SANTA MONICA - A 47-year-old armed man who was holed up overnight in his house in Santa Monica as SWAT officers surrounded the home was found dead today of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Police officers were sent to the 2900 block of Delaware Avenue just before 5 p.m. Tuesday after the suspect's 15-year-old son managed to escape from the house and call 911, said Santa Monica police Sgt. Richard Lewis.

The boy reported that his father, who was armed with a handgun, had taken him and his 86-year-old grandmother hostage inside the house, where all three were living along with the man's estranged wife, Lewis said.

SWAT team officers found the man dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a bedroom when they entered the home about 4 a.m. today, Lewis said. Authorities withheld his name, pending notification of next of kin.

The situation arose from a domestic quarrel between the man and his wife, who was not at home when the crisis began, Lewis said.